Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s late complaint about the Council charging his late mother, Mrs D for care she received in 2018. This is because there is no good reason to exercise discretion. Mr B could have come to us sooner if he was concerned Mrs D lacked capacity to agree to paying for her care in 2018. It would be for the executor of Mrs D’s estate to refuse to pay the debt if they believe she is not responsible for it and defend and court action taken.

The complaint

1. Mr B says he was told his late mother’s, Mrs D’s, care would be free of charge and the Council should not have undertaken a Financial Assessment with her or made her sign an agreement to pay for her care in 2018 without him being present because he was her Power of Attorney. Mr B says Mrs D had dementia and did not have capacity to decide she wanted chargeable care. Mr B says the Council has been chasing him for money he does not agree to paying and wants the Council to quash the debt.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council says Mrs D was discharged from hospital on 11 May 2018 the same day she was admitted. It said Mrs D signed a Financial Assessment form at the time and agreed to pay for her care. The Council provided Mr B with a copy of the signed assessment. The Council confirmed on that occasion Mrs D was not in receipt of a reablement package but had a package of home care which Mr B instructed the Council to terminate. On a second occasion in August and September 2018 Mrs D was discharged from hospital with a four-week reablement package in addition to a laundry visit which was chargeable.
7. The Council explained debt collection was postponed during the pandemic and apologised Mr B felt harassed and not listened to when being chased for payment.
8. We could not say Mrs D lacked capacity in 2018 to agree to paying for care she received. Mr B knew of the charges in 2018 because he cancelled the care. Mr B could have come to us then if he believed Mrs D should not have been charged for her care.
9. Mrs D is now deceased. It is the responsibility of the executor to collect the assets, pay any debts and use the resulting balance to distribute to any beneficiaries.
10. If the executors are disputing the existence of a particular debt they can refuse to pay and defend any court proceedings against them.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is no good reason to exercise discretion. Mr B could have come to us sooner if he was concerned Mrs D lacked capacity to agree to paying for care. It would be for the executor of Mrs D’s estate to refuse to pay the debt if they believe she is not responsible for it and defend and court action taken.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman